Stardust

by Cathryn Lyons

A beloved silver screen star
A playboy doctor
Two scandals
One solution—fake date your long-lost first love

When two scandals unexpectedly reunite long-estranged first loves almost two decades after their painful breakup, can they put hurtful bygones aside to help each other? Will their surprising alliance lead to lost love found?

Honor Wheatley’s world has just imploded. A decorated film actor, the beloved “nepo baby” and darling of the silver screen flees to the Shenandoah Valley to escape the fallout from a devastating scandal. When Honor’s arranged lodging floods, she finds sanctuary in an unexpected place—the home of her first love and the man who shattered her surgically repaired heart years ago. And when Brinder agrees to be her personal guide on a sexual exploration journey as preparation for a film role—what could go wrong with that?

Dr. Brinder Desai has a well-earned reputation as a player, earning him the nickname Dr. Desiiigh. A fabricated scandal jeopardizes his dream job. Brinder needs to show stability or risk losing the position he loves. Having Honor Wheatley—the woman who broke Brinder’s heart a lifetime ago and ruined him for relationships—in his home is a prescription for chaos he doesn’t need. Except—fake dating the woman he lost could be the very thing he needs to keep his job.

Stardust is a steamy, humorous, emotional contemporary romance about lost love found, healing, redemption, and second chances.

470 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2026

About the author

Cathryn Lyons loves novels. Seriously loves them. Especially romance. This includes reading (often devouring) them…and writing spicy contemporary romance novels of her own. She has been writing since before she could even properly hold a pen.
She is happily married to her real-life Happily Ever After. They share three sons and the world’s best and derpiest rescue Golden Retriever (from Turkey!). She is a lifelong Marylander, but wonders if her short stint in London counts as being cosmopolitan (the attribute, not the drink; although those are quite delicious).
Cathryn fills her creative bucket by writing steamy stories she hopes bring as much joy, laughter, escapism…and sexy feelings…that she herself has experienced through the gift of others’ words. She hopes you love her stories, and welcomes hearing from you.

Reviews

[Laura Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this author.
Stardust has some great scenes, which I’ll mention below the spoilers banner. The characters are well written and genuinely likeable. The steam is very good.
I read a lot and received this as an ARC. I found no issues with the layout, grammar, or overall story quality.
That said, for my personal preference, I found this to be a slow read. At around 500 pages, this book could easily have been 300–350 pages without losing anything that made it good.
The strength of the characters and the steam brought this up to a 4-star rating.
It was too slow for me to want to reread, and therefore it didn’t reach a 5-star review.
Spoilers ahead
There isn’t much that really grabbed me until Honor gets drunk (about a third of the way in), which genuinely had me laughing out loud.
For me, every scene should serve a purpose within the story and help move it forward. A lot of the dialogue with R and T felt unnecessary, and the conversation about her operation near the end added no new information and felt like wasted page time.
There are quite a few moments like this throughout the book — dialogue that doesn’t advance the story, or scenes that repeat information already covered.

[DeDe Ramey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love. This is a new author to me and I kind of started out backward reading book 3 of the series but you better believe I'm going back and reading books 1 and 2. I absolutely love this author's writing voice. It's a bit proper and had me thinking. I like that. The characters were well developed, I was immediately sucked in and felt attached to their stories. This is a story of second chances, one of my absolute favorites. The story was sweet and you wanted to root for the two characters Brinder and Honor. I love when stories call you to put yourself in other's shoes like this one does and shows you that regardless of your stature in life and what you've been blessed with, sometimes it is not a bed or roses. And then the love element. MY GOSH! This author does it in SPADES. I loved it. I can't wait to see how her other characters find their HEA.

[Alice Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This final book in the Second Chance at Love series is amazing! Cathryn gave us Brinder’s book and, wow, did deliver 🔥🔥🔥

Brinder and Honor fell in love as teens and, as we all know, life happens and those relationships end. But, first loves never really ever leave your heart.

Especially Honor’s heart that required surgery. She recovered from her physical scars, but her emotionally broken heart never healed.

Fast forward 20 years. Fall in love with these two beautiful souls finding one another and the love that never dissipated. Life’s traumas tried to break them, but their love and hearts won!

Cathryn Lyons gives us the laughs, the tears and the hilarious banter she delivers through her wonderful characters.

Grab this trilogy and thank me later!!

[Tilly McHenry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an advance copy of Stardust by Cathryn Lyons, the third in her Second Chance at Love series, and it did not disappoint me. Like the other books in this series, Heartstrings and Arches, Stardust has her signature beautifully developed characters, witty conversation, scenes that will make you laugh out loud, and some spice. This story about two long lost loves who find each other in the midst of scandal pulls the reader in as Honor and Brinder reconnect with each other and find that the love they shared years ago was never lost but rather was waiting until they could come back together.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding end to a triology

A fabulous end to the trilogy showing that playboys can and do reform and 2nd chance love can be just as sweet as insta love, friends to lovers or any other trope. The depth of character building is fantastic and with a truely international approach the care and consideration Cathryn puts into her stories oozes off the page.
I came upon Cathryn's books through reccomendation, when I say reccomendation I mean by someone saying I haven't read them but I think you will love them and I truely did - all 3!

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the series. I liked Honor and Brinder as characters and their story of what their lives were like after they were disconnected from each other for all those years. However, I think that the plot could have moved along better and without all the spice, even though that was a part of what Honor needed to experience for a role she was to play. Honestly a little would have described it and not have been so much of the book. It’s probably why I took so long to finish the book and I did skim over a great deal as I got the gist of what was being portrayed.

[Marisa Cianciarulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unforgettable second-chance romance! Who would have thought that Hollywood royalty and a posh surgeon would be a relatable couple? But Honor and Brinder have you rooting for them from the first page. Their back stories—individually and as a couple—are unique without being over the top. I fell in love with them immediately and couldn’t stop reading. Can’t wait to read the next Cathryn Lyons series.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stardust is the final book in Cathryn Lyons', Second Chance at Love Trilogy. 

It's a steamy HEA, between a playboy doctor and an actress which includes:
- small town
- high school sweethearts
- second chance romance
- forced proximty

Best of all, NO third act breakup!!


I highly recommend Stardust; however, start with the first two books in the series, Heartstrings & Arches, for a more enjoyable experience. I'm looking forward to her future releases!

[Annamarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always marvel at the talent of writers who actually put pen to paper and create a world of characters. This series of three Second Chance at Love is perfect (and spicy!) escapism. Stardust includes appearances of the cast of books 1 and 2 (love them) and tells the story of Honor and Brinder. Heart-thumping, sexy (did I say SPICY?), and infuriating (some nasty actors cause problems!), H & B work hard to reach their HEA.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So immersed.

I was not sure how I would feel reading Brinder's story but Cathryn did not disappoint. This couple was nothing short of adorable, passionate and of course, spicy - very immersive. I also love that she carried through the whimsical words contest - so entertaining. And who actually enjoys Scrabble anyway?! Can't wait to read more about related characters and expand on this 'world'.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this ARC a lot. The chemistry between Brinder and Honor was sizzling from the start and exploded multiple times as they worked through their own individual scandals and their own issues with each other. Second chances can be beautiful if they are truly earned and they both did that with each other.

[Amanda Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!

This book captured my attention from page 1. I loved the build up of the characters story. I feel like I really understood where they were coming from even though the fall back in love in a week, it don’t feel rushed it felt complete. This book I look my time reading bc it was that good, I didn’t want it to end .

[Melissa Gringo242424 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stardust has amazing characters with off the charts chemistry. It combines spice, romance, and you fall in love with Honor from the start. Will the two ex lovers find forgiveness in their new situation? It’s a beautiful story that feels so real. Amazing book.

[Cathy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book by Cathryn Lyons! Second chance books are one of my favorites to read. Honor and Brinder have so much to work through to have a second chance together. A beautifully written story of second chance and forgiveness!

[Kristan Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written story about love, scandal, and redemption. With a little *spice* added in 😍
Brinder is my new book boyfriend, please and thank you!